Los Angeles: The Edmonton Oilers scored three goals in the second period and goaltender Cam Talbot made 31 saves Sunday as the Oilers downed the Jets 3-0 in the NHL Heritage Classic outdoor game in Winnipeg.
The Oilers broke the deadlock in the tightly contested game with a short-handed goal at 9:24 of the second period.
Centre Mark Letestu intercepted a pass at his own blueline and had clear sailing all the way in on Connor Hellebuyck. He beat the Jets goalie low to the glove side with a wrist shot.
Defenceman Darnell Nurse doubled the lead at 11:10 just after the power play expired on a two-on-one with Connor McDavid.
Zack Kassian extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:16 and the Oilers improved to 5-1-0 this season, including a 2-0-0 record as visitors, to move into first place in the NHL’s overall standings.
Road teams improved to 14-4-1 in the NHL’s 19 regular-season outdoor games to date.
Hellebuyck finished with 29 saves in the losing effort in front of 33,240 at Investors Group Field, the home to the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Jets became the 22nd team to participate in a regular-season outdoor NHL game. The Oilers appeared in their second such contest after hosting the first regular-season outdoor game in League history, the 2003 NHL Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium.
It was the 19th regular-season outdoor game in NHL history and the first of four this season.
The contest was delayed for almost two hours because the bright sun on the ice created a glare that NHL officials deemed unsafe for players.
Oilers coach Todd McLellan said his players coped well with the delay, which they considered a hazard of the outdoor games.
“Everybody was excited about playing the game,” McLellan said. “With the amount of sun we had yesterday in practice there was a good chance there was going to be a delay. They came to the rink. They stayed loose, casual in the locker room.”
